Just Another Day
by Corrinne Blackwell
Summary: Max Ride just wants to relax, save the world, and lead her flock peacefully. Until her dreams are pushed off a cliff by the arrival of a flock a lot like her own. And she likes this flock a bunch, until she finds out more about them every passing minute.
1. 1

You know those days where something goes wrong or something new comes into your life? And you wish you could just turn it all around and kiss it goodbye? Well today was not one of those days. Or, so I thought. The flock and I, we could never be captured, we couldn't die. It seems like that anyway, because at the edge of sheer dumb luck and death, we always manage to escape with the luck.

The day had gone on amazingly in total boredom. Fang was holding up a newly finished wooden key he'd created. Iggy was subconscious to his surroundings, and staring blindly (well, DUH) into the sunset. Nudge wrote obsessively in the journal I got for her. It was a nice leather-bound cover with a darker colored spine. I smiled at the thought of Nudge keeping her deepest and darkest secrets with something I'd given to her.

To my surprise, Gazzy was sleeping heavily and was snoring to the high peaks. And even more to my surprise, his sister, Angel still laid awake. But her eyes were growing low with weary as she ever so lightly pet Total. Today had been successful in the category: Stay alive for at least one more day before mangy Erasers began to attack you like hell.

When the darkness came, I curiously looked around me. This whole week had been contently quiet. And for me that's just a bit _too_ quiet. I was the only remaining one of my flock that was awake. Slowly, I inhaled and exhaled the night air. As much as I tried to sleep, it just wouldn't come to me. So, what else is a 14 year old supposed to do but let the night spell seep in while exploring the scenery? This was our first night in Colorado. What could possibly go wrong?

Trust me, I regret thinking that ever since. In the calmest situations, that is the unluckiest thing you could ever say. When the coast was clear, I unfolded my wings and began to float on the cold air gracefully. Ahh… Since I was so into my relaxation moments, I didn't hear the rapid rustling beneath me.

_Think about your flock now, Max. _My inner voice said. This was totally unlike my voice. Yes it was very odd. It usually told me to think of the world and my destiny, let alone my flock. Was something up? _I always think of my flock, haven't you figured that out already?_ _Where have you been?_ I thought back to it. _ I know that you doubt about all this peacefulness. And there is no guard watching them. Don't you think that you ought to turn back? _The voice replied.

I sighed, rolled my eyes and steered back towards the direction of the flock's temporary camp. Only when I decided to forget about being irritated with my voice did I realize all the rustling.

That one word popped instantly into my mind. That stupid, dreaded, heart thudding word. _Erasers!_ In full speed and power, I swooped down with my heart beating as fast as I was flying. I didn't care if the pine needles dug into my arms on the descent, only one thing mattered. And that was getting these Erasers out of my hair once and for all. They needed to die in a hole.

I felt as if I could go faster, but my wings didn't budge no more. I landed on my feet with a thud. Every part of me was eager and ready to fight. The adrenaline pulsed rapidly through my mutant veins. But to my continuing luck, it was no pack of Erasers. Seriously, where are we getting all this random luck? I admit, I'm thankful for it and all, but I've lived long enough to realize that with all good comes _some_ catch.

There, standing in front of me was a group of kids, which very oddly looked like my flock. The tallest one, who was seemingly the leader to me, was a dude. Great, even better. Just my luck, huh?


	2. 2

(I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters.)

(This comes in no order of the Maximum Ride series, due to events I have planned for it that are probably not going to happen in the books. So far, only one situation... but ya.)

The six silhouettes that stood in front of me were panting heavily. My defensive stance remained, but my gaze was no longer stiff and cold. Big mistake, right? "Who dares to disturb me in flight?" I said towards them. I didn't know why I was being so hostile to seemingly scared souls, but I still had to be cautious. I couldn't let anything or anyone hurt the flock. They really didn't seem dangerous, though. I waited for several seconds for my Voice to tell me what to do next. But no reply came. So loyal and useful that turned out to be.

The tallest one, the boy stepped ahead of the others, his shoulders were relaxed. I could tell that he was several inches taller than me. The moonlight poured onto his face and torso. His face was a fair color and his hair was a mousey brown that the messy bangs covered his forehead. He let a few good yards live in distance to me and his group. "My name is Tyler, and these are my siblings."

At least he was polite to leave out a common part that I would expect from a boy, 'Sorry if we scared you.' I may not have Angel's mind reading powers, or any of her gifts, but I could tell he was lying about the sibling part. This next move might make you consider me the biggest idiot on the face of the Earth, I needed some part of plan if they were Erasers. I shot my wings out, reaching them out as wide as they could go in front of the small group. "You don't have to lie, or hide anything." Of course, I'm stupid to make myself believe that they would gasp in surprise, or tremble or something along those lines. Nope! Not even one small flinch! What's it take to make an avain hybrid threatening these days?

To even more of my dismay, Tyler suppressed a small sigh of relief. What really confused me though, was this next part. His figure shrugged off the zippered hoodie he was wearing and let it fall to the undergrowth. Of course, it only confused me that these guys existed, not that he was just about to admit that he was a freak too, silently. In a split second, he expanded some golden brown wings of his own. "You're on the run too, I assume?" Tyler asked with a smirk. I didn't completely let my guard down just yet, but I folded my wings and stepped a pace or two forward. "Not at the moment. What's it to you?"

Tyler shrugged. "Just wondering. What's your name? Or, are you going to wonder why I ask for that too?" His hands went into his front pockets and he locked his gaze with hers. I broke the gaze . "Max." I stated simply. "Max Ride." I looked towards the five behind Tyler. A silvery pair of eyes pierced me. By what means of piercing, I wasn't sure. All I could tell was that they were a girl's. "This is my flock. We're constantly on the run." Gee, wonder where I've heard _that_ story before? "Join the club." I said gravely.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Of course, you know from here my life always gets better and BETTER. A girl, a slight taller than me, with dirty blonde hair and deep sapphire blue eyes stepped to his side. Trust me, I was still very wary with this group, considering they just came out of nowhere, but I felt sympathetic. They looked really tired. I could hear almost muted yawns behind them. "We're kinda looking for a place to stay. At least for the night." Tyler said. Blondie still remained the mysterious mute. I felt some sort of feeling in me when I looked at her and Tyler. Didn't really know what it was, didn't care. I leaned my hips one way and placed my hands there. "What makes you think I'll let you stay with me? We already got the guys chasing us like paparazzi!"

I wanted to fly out of there and forget this mysterious flock altogether. Guess what kept me back? _Stay Max. You might want to find more out about them before you go rushing off._ My Voice said, as if this were some stupid tea party and nothing was wrong with the world or my life. _I can't trust them. So why should I stay?_

_You might be surprised with yourself, Max. They're a lot like you are. To them, you're like the people you turn you down. _I popped some gum in my mouth. You know, just to look cooler. "Seriously, what brings you here, of all places?" I asked challengingly. My voice was for Tyler, but my eyes were all on Blondie. "To be honest, we're just passing by." She said. "But we've got some younger souls who get tired if they don't stop at Burger King every four hours." I liked her personality, all cool and casual, unlike Tyler. "Oh, I'm on that boat. Wish I had more time to do it though." I chuckled.

A look of relief splashed over Tyler's face. But I wasn't giving in so easily. "I am seriously Tyler's sister though. We don't plan to stay long, or travel with you. We just need some direction of safety." _Well, she's more direct, more casual; I like her, what about you Voice?_ The Voice didn't reply. Oh well. I looked up towards the midnight sky and inhaled deeply. "I know I'm gonna regret this somehow, but…" I lowered my gaze again to the other flock. "Just follow me and keep quiet. Leave by dawn, you got that?" I ended sharply. Blondie's blue eyes focused on me still, but she nodded. Then she twirled back towards the rest of the group to round them up and start flying.

I was about to take off and lead the way, but Tyler tapped my shoulder. "Thanks. A bunch." He smiled. For once, I didn't despise his nature. I sort of realized his personality and looks. Not that I admired them or anything, but I noticed it. I spread my lovely brown wings out again and leaped into the sky. I could hear the many swoops of wings at the back of my path. I wanted to mess with them a little bit, so I did some drops down and some twirls to get them confused.

The flight wasn't very long, but I became aware of many things. I hadn't taken the flock's opinion on these strangers. I tried to imagine their expressions to a new flock. Angel would probably be excited, Nudge too. I wouldn't be sure about Gazzy or Iggy, but I know Fang would just glare at me like I just murdered some innocent souls. Fang… My thoughts were lost at his name for a few seconds. I convinced myself that the flock couldn't be too angry. This group was going to leave at dawn, and we'd both be on our way, no big deal. _I hope._


	3. 3

It was quite a quiet journey. I didn't mind it coming from them, of course, but it just seemed so abnormal to me. I almost expected to hear Nudge talking about how she wanted to stop at some store, or Total going on and on about random topics, and even Gazzy with his imitations. All this thinking made me almost forget we were right above our current camp. I folded my wings to swoop down into the camp. If the other flock didn't like it, too bad.

It felt almost like free-falling, though I knew I'd have to catch myself. When I was only a few feet above the ground, I shot my wings out and glided slowly the rest of the way downwards. A few seconds later, Tyler, Blondie and the rest of the flock who's names I had not yet been introduced landed with a small thud on their feet and with a crackle of leaves. I swiveled on my heels and faced them with a grim look. "Anywhere within twenty yards seems calm. Feel free to choose any spot." Again, not talking so softly to them, but something still told me that I couldn't trust them just yet.

The smallest one, a short girl it seemed, with long hair cleared some of the leaves below her feet and collapsed there and then from exhaustion. The rest scattered, as if they suddenly felt they were at home. A boy, about Gazzy's height by the looks of his silhouette, disappeared into the shadows and away from the rest of the flock. My suspicion grew, but I let the thought go quickly. No sense worrying over something that isn't your responsibility, right? The rest of them settled down randomly, in a variation of close to and far away from my sleeping flock. I was extremely tired from a complete day of boredom, but I was nowhere near ready to sleep. Tyler was coming towards me and without a word, settled in a spot next to me. He didn't look ready to give into the tired either.

His eyes examined the stars that reflected them. Still focusing on them subconsciously, I could hear him quietly mutter, "Hey." It was a wonder why this boy was so calm around strangers. I didn't reply, my face was turned away. "'You… want to know my flock?" he guessed. Man, for a non-mind reader, he was good at guessing. "It would make me more comfortable." was my only reply.

His golden brown hair swished with the movements of his head, meaning to turn to me. Reluctantly, I turned my head. I wish I hadn't. I was there examining his features for a few moments before he actually started. He didn't mention it at all, but I could just tell something about that pause was part of his plot to trap me into liking him and his 'family'. His finger pointed to the girl that had fallen into sleep the moment we reached the camp. "That's Hope. A handful, but is pretty good at following directions." I opened my mouth, for a comment or criticism, I forget, but he went on to another boy near her. What looked like a baseball cap was rested beside his head. "That's Zach. He's the athletic one, loves sports and flying." I pursed my lips this time, knowing he'd only continue on.

Then Tyler nodded towards Blondie. "That's my sister, Rebecca. She's a real pain, but… hey, she's my sister. What else am I supposed to do?" he ended slightly in a chuckle. I smirked, just to play along. Because of my growing sleepiness, I was only half listening, but enough to understand who was who. Next, he pointed to a huddle that was leaned against a tree. "That's Elmira. She's sort of weird, with her eyes, but pretty cool anyway." I thought of the silver eyes I had seen earlier. Had they belonged to her? No use waiting for an answer. "Does she have silver eyes? I thought I saw her earlier." He only nodded. I waited for the next introduction, but he just seemed to be looking around, as if he had misplaced something. _Like his brain maybe?_ I thought to myself. "Well, the one I can't find is Marc. Then again, he likes sleeping where there isn't any light. He's not really scared of the dark or anything. In fact, his mind is pretty dark itself." He explained. "And I'm Tyler," he said with a grin. "But you know that."

I nodded. "Any of you guys have spontaneous mutations?" I asked. Wow, that came out wrong. He raised his brow, in clear confusion. "Sorry, I'm half asleep, in case you can't tell. I mean do any of you have, like, special gifts?" I can read people really well. But there were so many emotions that filled his face now; I couldn't really tell what he felt. I couldn't even tell what one emotion was upon his face. "Um, yeah. " he blurted out suddenly. "Marc's somewhat telepathic. It can only be something up to half his weight." I was falling closer and closer into sleep as he spoke, my head was slowly lowering. "Rebecca can get information out of things, simply by touching it. Maybe that's why she's so clever and…" I think that was the time when he realized I was at the point where I was barely listening. His grin shone brightly off the moonlight. My head was pressed against the floor of the forest, my eyelids growing heavier and heavier. "Thanks…" I murmured. I couldn't see him anymore, but I could hear his hands tucking my messy hair under my head. "No problem, have a good night." Tyler rose to his feet and walked away. But from there, I could hear and see no more. Sleep had finally got the better of me. And what I was so stupid to miss; I actually said nothing bad about or to Tyler.

***

With time closing in on midnight, Tyler landed after a long flight. His deep brown eyes cold. The shadows were hiding him more by the minute as he walked towards the sleeping Max. Lowering to one knee, he reached out to her hair and let it seep through his fingers. _Sort of a silky feeling._ He thought to himself. Something he needed to remember for the worst of times. And he knew the worst of times wasn't far away. Tyler inhaled the misty air slowly as he fell away from Max and towards the figure of Elmira. When he was only a few feet away from her, he said her name in a normal, not hushed tone. Her silver eyes immediately flashed open. She shook her head and looked up at her leader. "Yes, Tyler?" He held the gaze for a few moments. "Have you figured the outcome yet?"

Not one shimmer of fear shone in her eyes. "No. I haven't. You can't expect much done while at rest." With a last disappointed look, he launched into the sky once more for several more hours.


	4. 4

The morning was beautiful. Too bad this "other flock" had to ruin it. I mean, seriously, the dawn was really gorgeous, a nice peach and salmon mixed with a blue gray, then that thought just came up and I was all in my 'This day is crap' mood. Tyler was gone from his resting place, but I couldn't see him anywhere. Rebecca was gathering Hope and Zach, and for the first time I saw Marc. He seemed like a gothic kid, sort of. His clothes were a really ugly brown, but his hair was a deep brown that looked a bit better. His eyes matched his hair perfectly. And I got a glimpse of Elmira too. She looked… weird compared to the rest, with her hair that shined brighter than normal at the morning sun, her silver eyes and her pale face. Maybe that was a mutation. Then again, I really didn't care. I stretched my wings and rose to my feet.

"I thought dawn was the agreement?" I called over in a hushed tone. The less my flock knew the better. All of their eyes focused on me now. I wasn't sure why, but it reminded me of a huge horde of Erasers. "It was." Rebecca stated simply. My gaze now said 'Then why haven't you left?' widely. "We're waiting for Tyler. He went to go see which path we're going to take next." Elmira finished for Rebecca. When her eyes met mine, I swear, it was like having a thousand knifes, or bullets perhaps, coming at you. And trust me, that is _not_ fun. But when I saw her gaze, I had another feeling that she wasn't the only one watching me right now. That was confirmed a few minutes later. _Who're they, Max?_ I heard Angel's sweet voice inside my head.

_Crap, _was my only thought. I had to admit, I loved Angel. She was my little sweetheart. But sometimes the mind-reading/mind-controlling setting just didn't please me, especially with my thoughts on Fang. Not that I'm worried she'll tell him, just… sometimes I want to keep things to myself, you know? _Why are you awake?_ I thought back.

_I always wake up around this time, you know that. So, who are they?_ I looked back towards Angel. I couldn't look into her eyes, those cute, blue, puppy-dog eyes. Not without caving in to her. _I'll tell you later, they're leaving in a moment, hopefully._ For a few seconds, I wasn't quite sure if she was still reading my mind, because of how still she was standing. But she nodded her head and disappeared back to her resting place. I swiveled on my heels and walked towards them. "How long should this take?" I crossed my arms and leaned to the left a little bit.

"Not much longer. He usually takes up most of the night finding the way." Rebecca answered. _Most of the night? He wasn't here all night? _ I thought curiously. I thought the point of asking someone for a place to stay the night, was to actually sleep there that night? Anyway, I'm not him, I'm glad I'm not, so I'd leave it be. I rolled my eyes quickly and examined them again. Hope seemed to be in some state of concentration that sort of freaked me out a bit. Repeatedly, she would close her eyes for a few seconds, then open them, then close them again. I decided to focus on someone else. The kid Zach was in the baseball cap I didn't recognize the team of.

Rebecca was tapping her foot impatiently as her blue-gray wings simply extended. She seemed to be muttering a curse upon Tyler's lateness. I had no idea what to do next. So I decided to just stay with them. I assumed Elmira was getting tired of waiting, considering she took off in flight and out of my view. "What's her problem?" I asked anyway.

I was actually surprised. Not only was it different from what I expected, Marc answered instead of Rebecca. "She does love to fly. It's not that she has too much energy, she just prefers moving to standing for too long." He sounded so…. sophisticated. Compared to Gazzy anyway. A few moments later, Elmira returned with her face in a state of relaxation. A large gust of wind blew into my face, messing up my hair and making it get all into my eyes. Along with that wind, I heard many sighs of relief. I couldn't see the big picture because obviously my hair was in my eyes. Rapidly, I brushed it out of my face. Tyler had returned. _Finally!! _

You know those moments, where you think something and you're just so excited, you don't even realize you actually said it out loud? Yeah… that was one of those moments… really embarrassing. Each one of the 'other' flock was staring at me like I had six eyes and eight legs. I pressed my lips together really hard and backed up a few paces, letting them talk. As much as I wanted to hear what they were planning, my embarrassment overpowered everything. "Focus Max… once they're actually gone, you can rejoice all you want…. convert the embarrassment into energy…" I breathed quietly. My mom told me that whenever I have negative energy or thoughts, I should convert that into positive energy. Where she got that from, I have no clue. But it helps far more than it sounds ineffective. Regaining my confidence, I walked slowly back to the group. _Don't even mention the incident. _"Well… Hope you guys have a safe trip and uh… try to stay away from those Erasers. Last time we saw them was more eastward." _That ought to keep their minds off the rude comment. _"That's exactly why I've found somewhere sort of southwest." Tyler replied. I don't know why, or the better question, why **I **cared, but Tyler's hair seemed to have sort of an aura to it in sunlight, far more than in moonlight. He grinned politely. "What about you? Or, do you plan to make this your permanent residence?"

I started laughing lightly. "No... if I was ever going to make myself a permanent home, it would never be in the woods." His eyes pierced into me, like thorns. But not really in a bad way. I'm pretty sure that he wanted to stay longer. Or, so that's what showed in his eyes anyway. And that was never going to happen on my watch. This was _my_ life, _my_ flock, _my_ destiny. I wasn't about to let Tyler and his flock change and ruin it. "We should be going now." At first, I thought that was a statement from my own head. But then I realized that it was Elmira who said that. _At least there's _someone _who has my common interest._ And they all began to nod and take off into the sky, without another word. As I watched from below, I had a grin on my face, proud of myself that this hadn't been too much work. Or that there wasn't too much evidence that this flock had been here. _Well…that was…easier than I thought it would be._ I shrugged. They were out of my life. For good.

In the pit of my stomach, I wracked a lot of guilt suddenly. I thought of Angel. If I knew my little Angel well enough, she'd tell someone. Most likely Total. And if I knew Total correctly, he would blab it out to my entire flock. Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge…and Fang… Fang… I snapped myself out of the state of mind. _Well, that leaves one step: telling the flock._ I swallowed hard. How would I explain this to them? They would all mock my choice. Especially Fang, even though he was my right hand man. _Come on Max. Toughen up! You're the leader here, not them. You make the decisions!_ I was telling myself. I clenched my fist and shut my eyes tightly. Then I shot my eyes open and began to walk back towards the flock. And I was feeling like the toughest, roughest leader there was out there. I felt like a million bucks. I felt like no one could stop me. Boy was I off…


End file.
